Arrested protesters to attend IU hearing

Three IU students arrested in Tuesday’s protest at the Kelley School of Business’ Godfrey Graduate Executive Education Center will not be charged, Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal said Wednesday.

Protesters in an autonomous group gathered outside a JPMorgan recruitment event to stop interviews, said media liaison and senior Justinian Dispenza. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the protesters prevented anyone from entering the room.

When police arrived at the scene, they advised the protesters to move from the door or they would be arrested for trespassing. After the threat of arrest, most of the protesters sitting in front of the door moved away but continued to protest in the surrounding hallway and stairwell. Three protesters, however, remained.

The three were taken into custody, as well as two more who sat down in front of the door following the initial arrests.

After asking the protesters to move, members of the IU Police Department arrested the students and two other protesters, said Mark Land, associate vice president for University communications.

“They were not arrested because they were protesting,” Land said. “They were arrested because they were keeping other students from using the facilities. They were getting in the way of the educational mission of the University.”

Gaal said the University is within its legal rights to remove disruptive persons who are advised of trespass from its property but that the punishment is a matter for IU to handle, not the city.

Typically, when IUPD officers make arrests for criminal acts, the offenders are prosecuted by the local court system and are then handed to the prosecutor’s office, Land said. In this case, Gaal said he did not believe the county needed to prosecute.

“This was a peaceful demonstration in which no property was damaged nor any person injured,” Gaal said in a statement. “Because this situation did not pose a significant threat to public safety. It does not warrant the expenditure of scarce resources that would result from a criminal prosecution.”

The students now face discipline for personal misconduct and will attend a judicial conference, Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said.

According to the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, personal misconduct includes “intentionally obstructing or blocking access to university facilities, property or programs.”

If the students disagree with the conference’s decision, Goldsmith said they can go before a hearing commission.

“The initial phases will start now,” Goldsmith said. “But in terms of how much time we have left in the semester, I’m not sure if it will be completed.”

Possible judicial conference outcomes
1. Reprimand and warning
2. Disciplinary probation
3. Restitution: repaying the cost of property damage by the student
4. Participate in a specific program: can include counseling, alcohol education or other program designed to foster civic participation
5. Provide a specific service: repair damaged property
6. Expulsion from University housing
7. Suspension
8. Expulsion
9. Deferred sanction: an allotted future expulsion time

Source: IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct